Are You Lazy? 17 Ways to Fight Insulin Resistance:

Editor’s Note: Cyrus Khambatta, PhD, lives with type 1 diabetes and coaches his clients in a non-traditional nutritional approach to diabetes management. The views expressed in this article are his own.

Diabetes costs $247 billion. $247 billion is a large number.

This number is so large in fact, that I’m having trouble wrapping my head around it.

This number – almost one quarter of a trillion dollars – is the estimated cost of diabetes in the year 2012 in the United States. This includes cost of diagnosis and treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, or the single year “diabetes economic burden.”

It is a number so large, it defies belief.

Put into context, $247 billion dollars means this:

Start with $1000. Put it in a pile on your desk. Now make 1000 of those piles. That’s $1 million.

Now repeat this process 10 times. That’s $10 million.

Take that money, put it in a storage container, then fill 99 more storage containers in the same way. Now you have $1 billion.

Take that money, fill a 747 with it, then fill 247 other jumbo jets. Congrats, you now have $247 billion.

It wasn’t until I went to the 2013 American Diabetes Conference in Chicago, Il this past month that I began to realize just how big of a monster diabetes has become. As I walked past the registration desk, I couldn’t help but notice a pharmaceutical product exhibition that overtook a floor the size of two football fields.

As I walked past product vendors, I couldn’t help but think to myself: Is all this necessary?

As a diabetic that has managed to minimize insulin usage through diet and exercise alone, it’s difficult to wade through a sea of medical equipment without thinking whether other diabetics could also achieve the same outcome using diet and exercise instead of a litany of pharmaceutical drugs.

What percentage of diabetics perform regular exercise?

The answer to this question is unfortunate. Less than 40% of all diabetics perform regular exercise and watch their diet. Most diabetics know it’s good for them, but still refuse to do it. Read the article Most Diabetics Refuse to Exercise. It amazes me how lazy our society has become.

What percentage of diabetics eat a diet low in fat and refined carbohydrates?

Even worse, less than 20% of diabetics eat a diet low in fat and refined carbohydrates, two dietary components that encourage the development of insulin resistance.

The problem is that most people want a magic pill, a pill that can be taken once a day that mimics the effect of healthy lifestyle choices. In fact, many of the pharmaceutical companies pictured above are attempting to develop such drugs. Just think of how much money could be made from such a therapy.

So what am I supposed to do?

So the verdict is out. Intellectually, we know that a healthy diet and frequent exercise can treat and even prevent a complicated condition like diabetes. But that information isn’t enough. Instead we create an industry with a plethora of goods and services, then prolong the treatment of the disease, all for the sake of profit.

If you want to give your body an early Christmas present, here are a few ideas:

1. Ride a bike.

2. Walk across your neighborhood. And back.

3. Go on a run–even just to the end of the driveway. And back.

4. Swim 10 laps.

5. Stand up, sit down, repeat 100 times.

6. Take your dog on a walk. Take your cat on a walk. Take your hamster on a walk.

7. Chase your kid around the park.

8. Chase someone else’s kid around the park.

9. Put 2 gallons of water in a stroller, push that around the block. Repeat 5 times.

Cyrus Khambatta earned his PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 22, and has spent the last 11 years of his life studying pancreatic islet cell failure and insulin resistance. Often described as enthusiastic and passionate about nutrition and exercise, Cyrus works with clients across the globe through MangoMan Nutrition and Fitness coaching to teach the principles of attaining top-notch blood sugar control by reversing the root cause of diabetes - insulin resistance - instead of just treating the symptoms of high blood sugar. He is publishing the Carbohydrate Ninja Recipe Guide in the next few months.